1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a pulse width modulated (PWM) signal amplifier and, in particular, is directed to a pulse width modulator in which the integrated value of a PWM signal within one period is in proportion to the integrated value of an input signal to be modulated within the period corresponding to the above one period of the PWM signal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The present invention is an improvement over a self-oscillating type of PWM amplifier in which an input signal is added to another signal and the sum signal is integrated and applied to a hysteresis circuit to produce a PWM signal. This signal is amplified in a D-class amplifier and is connected through a negative feedback circuit to the adder to constitute the second signal. The output of the D-class amplifier is also applied through a low pass filter to a load.
When the frequency of such a self-oscillation type of PWM signal is caused to fluctuate, its side band is mixed with the audible frequency band, and the output signal from the filter, as well as the demodulated signal may contain distortion not present in the input signal.
The present invention also represents an improvement over an external synchronization type of PWM signal amplifier. The external synchronization type includes a sample-and-hold circuit connected to receive the sum signal as well as a sawtooth signal of predetermined frequency. The output of the sample-and-hold circuit is in the form of the PWM signal and is applied to a D-class amplifier and from there to a low pass filter to be demodulated as the original signal. This demodulated signal is fed back to the adder circuit as the signal to be added to the input signal to form the sum signal. The demodulated signal is also applied to a load circuit.
If the frequency of the sawtooth signal applied to the sample-and-hold circuit is not changed, distortion in the demodulated signal due to fluctuation of the oscillation frequency is avoided. However, the duty cycle of the PWM output signal of the sample-and-hold circuit is changed in accordance with the level of the input signal so that there is no proportional relation between the integrated value of the PWM signal within one period thereof and the integrated value of the input signal within a period corresponding to one period of the PWM signal. As a result, distortion is produced in the demodulated signal from the low pass filter.